PLEASE NOTE: We now meet on the second Tuesday of each month in Room #1 at the Northbrae Community Church in Berkeley, CA. The group facilitator listed below is subject to change with short notice.
This site is for the Berkeley Dharma and Recovery Group led by Walt Opie. We meet on the second Tuesday of each month from 7:30 - 9 pm at the Northbrae Community Church (941 The Alameda, Berkeley, CA) in Room #1 upstairs. Walt is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders program and the Sati Center Buddhist Chaplaincy program. He has been mentored by Kevin Griffin (author of "One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps").
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
Quote on Craving from Dhamma Everywhere by Sayadaw U Tejaniya
Craving
is very tricky; it’s always pushing you. Whatever you think, whatever you say,
whatever you do, craving is pushing you, motivating you. There are many ways
for craving to come in or arise in your mind. What do you want? Sometimes you
should ask yourself: What do I want? Do I want something? There’s always
wanting. Because of this wanting, desire, craving, expectation (same meaning),
the mind is suffering, tense, and dissatisfied.
If the mind doesn’t
want anything, it is free.
You
cannot get what you want. If you understand the principle that you cannot get
something because you want it and that you only get what comes from conditions,
cause and effect, then desire gets weaker and weaker. Craving will be less and
less. Everything happens because of cause and effect, not because you want it
to happen.
Actually,
you only get suffering if you want something with craving.
Peace, liberation, freedom comes
because you don’t want anything.
If
craving disappears, this is liberation.
Monday, January 5, 2015
2015 Monthly Schedule
PLEASE NOTE: We now meet on the second Tuesday of each month in Room #1 at the Northbrae Community Church in Berkeley, CA. The group facilitator listed below is subject to change with short notice.
Tuesday, January 13: Walt Opie
Tuesday, January 13: Walt Opie
Tuesday, February 10: Walt Opie
Tuesday, March 10: Walt Opie
Tuesday, April 14: Walt Opie
Tuesday, May 12: Walt Opie
Tuesday, June 9: Walt Opie
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
The Four Principles of Mindful Transformation (taken from The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield)
RAIN (technique for looking at our
difficulties):
1 – Recognize
(pause & step out of denial for true freedom from suffering—name and
inwardly bow to our experience—“ah, the judging mind…”)
2 – Accept
(relax & open to the facts before us, not passive; Say, “This too.”)
3 - Investigate
[body, feeling tone, mind & dharma] (also called "seeing deeply"; Jack Kornfield says,
“Whenever we are stuck, it is because we have not looked deeply enough into the
nature of the experience.”)
4 - Non-Identify
(notice how we identify it as “me” or “mine” + awareness)
Monday, July 7, 2014
Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, July 8 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, July 15 - Jeff Lindemood
Tuesday, July 22 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, July 29 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, August 5 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, August 12 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, August 19 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, August 26 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, July 15 - Jeff Lindemood
Tuesday, July 22 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, July 29 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, August 5 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, August 12 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, August 19 - Walt Opie
Tuesday, August 26 - Walt Opie
Monday, June 9, 2014
Nothing Extra by Joan Halifax
[This is a quote from last week's talk that seemed to resonate with people. -w.o.]
Nothing Extra by Joan Halifax (Zen teacher):
Nothing Extra by Joan Halifax (Zen teacher):
"Some years ago, walking across the Himalayas, I
realized I would never make it over those mountains unless I let go of
everything extra. That meant I had to lighten up my mind as well as my
overloaded daypack. It all came down to one simple sentence: Nothing extra!
Just as these two legs carried me across mountains, those same words carry me
through complicated days. They always remind me to let go. They also remind me
of the weightlessness and ease of a whole and dedicated heart."
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